[Review] IVO C151 Faucet-mounted water purifier

I can't believe we only learned of this product recently! IVO Faucet-mounted water purifier is exactly what it says I don't know how else to translate that. It's an attachment that basically filters your faucet water so you can drink straight from it. Love it.

Before I let you on in my blabber, here's a Youtube review:

Alright, pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Compact and space-saving
2. Cost-cutting
3. Very convenient
4. Japanese technology, made by a reputable manufacturer that also makes dialysis machines. Yeah so kinda like if filtration is the game, Torayvino is the name. 
5. This particular model can filter up to 1500L of water

6. Water tastes fine. No aftertaste like in bottled waters.

Cons:
1. A bit pricey
2. Hard to tell when the cartridge is due for replacement (unless you go for a different model, there's one that has a LED screen to indicate your consumption)
3. Pretty bulky for our small sink
4. Good for small households only, I'd say 1-3 people so you don't keep on changing the cartridge (unless you don't intend to use it for regular drinking. Some people get it just for washing produce)

I learned about IVO by asking in our community Facebook group, then I also learned it's being advertised in OShopping. It's actually been around for a while. And IVO isn't the first one to introduce this type of product. Just search for "faucet mounted water filter" and you'll be greeted with tons of options. There's Megafresh, some generic ceramic cartridges, unbranded activated carbon attachments, but I decided to stick with IVO for the following reasons:

• It's manufactured by a reputable Japanese company, Torayvino
• It employs a 4-level filtration system (Pre-screen, 2nd Screen, Hollow Filter Membrane, Granular Activated carbon)
• Claims to deliver 99.99% bacteria-free drinking water - I mean if a Japanese product has boldly put such claim in their packaging I'm bound to believe it lol
• The product looks pretty haha (I mean compared to other brands yknow haha)
  
  

Okay, so what's in the box?

1. User manual in English
2. Head unit
3. Filter cartridge C151 than can filter 1500L of water
4. Various adapters

It's pretty easy to set up, you just need to try which adapter works for your kind of faucet. Once it's installed you'll now have 3 water settings...

Photo from Oshopping

You can look inside the cartridge to see the interior filter. 

.

This is one of my happiest household purchases so far.

We've finally kept our ugly blue water container for good because we didn't have to fetch water every week! I mean, our condo supplies us free drinking water but it's a hassle when we run out of backup and they're closed for the day or it's a Holiday idk I hate it. I also think they don't clean the containers well. Also, I hate having to nag my husband to fetch water when it's out lol.

It's space-saving, compact, and portable too. The attachments included in the package allows it to be mounted on almost any type of faucet. We don't really pay for drinking water, but if you are then this is quite a good replacement. I admit this is actually an added expense for us, we pay for the filter and cartridge replacement and our drinking water is now being added to our water utility bill, but it's not really a big deal considering how convenient it is to have clean drinking water right from your faucet.

VERY Important usage tips!

• After installation, make sure to "break-in" the filter by running a slow flow for at least 30 seconds to avoid air pockets from forming inside the cartridge. I read about a user who ran a fast flow on first use and by 2 weeks the water is already running very slowly, they had to replace it.
• If left unused for more than a week, prime the cartridge by running a slow flow first for a few seconds before drinking.
• If there's a water interruption, remove the cartridge to avoid accidentally running murky water on it once the water supply is back. Once dirty water has passed through the filter, the water flow will slow down terribly and you'd have wasted its filtering capacity. This is particular here in Metro Manila I guess because every time the water line is restored, it spits out dirty water at first, until it gets clearer and clearer and clean enough for drinking.

How's the price and availability?

IVO Faucet-mounted Water Purifier Set retails for ₱1,980.00. It includes the head unit and 1 cartridge. C-151 cartridge replacement costs ₱1,380.  There's also a pack of 3 available for around  ₱3,300. You can purchase online through OShopping, IVO PH, True Value, All Home, or Mercury Drug. I bought mine at True Value Glorietta. :)

How's it doing so far?

So far so good, we bought the unit on April 17 and it doesn't look like it needs to be replaced anytime soon. We're just a household of 2 so I figured it would take quite a while to have it replaced. They say it's time to change the cartridge when the flow is starting to slow down, ours took over a year to slow down mainly because we drink at the office for the most part hehe.

I would recommend this to a small household. Like maybe 1-3 people.

Also those living in condos because it's usually tight and every square inch of space savings matters.

Also if your faucet is low and doesn't have a standard threading, it would be very difficult to work with this. Luckily our faucet is kind of a bridge type that's tall enough that you can place a pitcher underneath. I've seen faucets that are so different you can't remove the aerator to reveal the threads.

I wouldn't sell this to big families, obviously they have more water needs and would max out the cartridge in a few months. With a cartridge that pricey, I'd say you'd be out replacing it every 3 months and that's not very practical. Unless, like I mentioned above, you don't intend to use it for your regular drinking water needs. It's a good supplement though.

  

UPDATE: April 6, 2020

Okaaay, it's been ALMOST A YEAR, and we haven't replaced the cartridge. We estimated our usage to be around 3L per day, which is quite lavish considering we drink water at the office too. That said, it would take us 500 days to max the filter capacity. Still a long time from now.

This is how the cartridge looks like right now:

It's gone darker, but I can't taste the difference yet hahaha. Should we change already? I'm not too worried cos we're still far behind 1500L but I don't know if that color is still considered safe lol.

UPDATE June 9, 2020: I checked with IVO PH and they told me that it's still safe to continue using the cartridge even with that color, as long as the water flow is still tolerable. So it's really up to us. So far, water flow hasn't slowed down considerably and filter cartridge has gone darker. No worries though because they assured me that no matter the strength of the flow, water quality remains the same. Love it!

Anyway. Yeah, go get this one. I fully recommend this product!